This yummy toddler smoothie method is simple to blend up for breakfast or snack. It’s a perfect smoothie for kids since it’s naturally sweet, loaded with nutrition from fruit and veggies, and tastes great!
One of the best ways to help kids eat more fruits and vegetables is to pack them into smoothies. We love smoothies for healthy toddler breakfasts and easy toddler snacks and baby snacks. It’s also easy to keep the affordable ingredients for these on hand in the freezer or pantry.
Quick Look: Toddler Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Serving: 1-2
- Flavor Profile: bright fruit flavor with creamy consistency
- Difficulty: Easy, perfect for everyday
- Why to Make: It’s a quick, nutritious, and yummy toddler drink or meal in minutes
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Table of Contents
This easy toddler meal idea is flexible and versatile and it relies on nutritious, yet affordable and accessible ingredients to ensure every family can easily make them. They are great on their own as a meal or snack or paired with favorites like my Healthy Breakfast Bars, Easy Oatmeal Bars, Lemon Blueberry Muffins, and Healthy Oatmeal Cookies.
Why this Recipe Works
My method allows you to start with one master smoothie recipe and vary it based on what your kids like (and for any food allergy concerns) to increase the likelihood that they will actually drink it! These smoothies are yummy, nutritious, and fast.
Ingredients You Need
There’s one master recipe here, but you can pick which fruits and veggies to use so you can customize the toddler smoothie for your child. Here are the basics.
- Milk: You can use your favorite milk here, though I generally prefer non-dairy milk such as soy milk or oat milk in smoothies. (Adjust this for food allergies or intolerances as needed.)
- Fruit: You can use fresh or frozen fruit including banana, strawberries, kiwi, apple, oranges, and peaches.
- Veggies: You can use cauliflower, spinach, butternut squash, baby spinach, and/or zucchini in these recipes.
- Frozen banana: This ensures each smoothie will be creamy. You can use frozen mango if banana is not an option due to an allergy.
- Optional add-ins including hemp seeds, nut or seed butter, and optional sweetener to customize them to your child’s tastes.
TIP: I like to do half frozen fruit and half fresh fruit for a smoothie that’s a nice thickness for toddlers to drink.
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How to Make Toddler Smoothies
Here’s a look at the process involved in making smoothies for kids. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for all of the recipes.
- Add the milk to the blender. (We prefer nondairy milks since they seem to have a slightly better consistency and less of a tendency to separate after blending.)
- Add the fruit and veggie and any optional ingredients.
- Blend the smoothie really well to ensure that it has a very creamy texture.
- Serve it in a reusable pouch, a small open cup, or in a sippy cup depending on what your kid likes best.
TIP: To help ensure a good texture and flavor in our veggie smoothies, we pick just a few ingredients each time and keep the flavors simple.
Featured Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This is our go-to smoothie recipe that I make for my kids twice a week! Such an easy and delicious way to get Kale into their diets!” —Linda
Kid-Friendly Constipation Smoothie
If your toddler has frequent constipation or a sudden bout, a smoothie with veggies can help. Consider adding chia seeds and a small spoonful of coconut oil, flaxseed oil, or avocado. You can also use full-fat coconut milk as the base.
The healthy fats can coat the digestive tract, making it easier for food waste to pass through. And, since the foods in toddler smoothies are already blended, it’s much less work for their digestive systems! You can see this in my Constipation Smoothie recipe.
Smoothies for Toddlers to Gain Weight
If your doctor has told you that your toddler needs healthy foods to gain weight, a smoothie can be a helpful mealtime tool. Consider adding nut butters, avocado, healthy oils (flax, fish), full fat yogurt, hemp seeds, and offering a serving of a toddler smoothie at snack time, mealtime, or as a bedtime snack.
You can see this in my Kids Weight Gain Shake.
Toddler Smoothies FAQs
After a baby is working on starting solids, they can start smoothies almost right away. Avoid using sweetened milks and opt for a plain unsweetened nondairy milk instead. And serve on a spoon, in a very small open cup or in a reusable pouch. (You just don’t want to substitute it for breastmilk or formula.)
If you have a kid who won’t eat many vegetables, veggie smoothies can be a great option since the veggies are served in a slightly sweet drink that tastes like a milkshake. And try some of the combinations below that aren’t green first, since pink, orange, purple, or even white smoothies are often much less alarming than green ones. Then, once you have a smoothie fan, try offering my green smoothie for kids!
You can add hemp seeds, chia seeds, yogurt, avocado, fish oil, and/or nut or seed butters in small amounts to smoothies. You can also look at my protein powder for kids.
Frozen banana and mango make smoothies very smooth and creamy. Then you can add in almost any other fruit to make a delicious flavor combination
Best Tips for Success
- If you can freeze the greens ahead of time, the finished product will taste much less “green” but will have the same nutrition.
- You can get a less thick texture in toddler smoothies, which some kids prefer by using fresh fruit rather than frozen—and this is also a good option for winter days when a frozen drink is less than ideal.
- You can use yogurt in place of milk if you add a fruit with a lot of liquid like a clementine or orange. (Or try my Strawberry Smoothie Recipe with Yogurt.)
- Serve toddler smoothies in a reusable pouch (we like Squeasy Gear!) or in a cup with a straw.
- Include with a meal alongside Baked Chicken Meatballs, Baby Pancakes, or Broccoli Tots.
- And if nothing else works, freeze them into Green Smoothie Popsicles!
More Smoothies for Kids
Smoothie Recipes
Favorite Yogurt Drinks
Smoothie Recipes
Easy Cherry Smoothie
Smoothie Recipes
Favorite Peach Smoothie
Smoothie Recipes
Easy Watermelon Smoothie
I’d love to know if you’ve tried this recipe and what your family thinks of it so please rate and comment below!
Favorite Healthy Toddler Smoothie (with Veggies!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (I prefer nondairy)
- 1 small banana (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit (such as blueberries, strawberries, mango, apple, or kiwi)
- 1/2 cup veggies (such as kale, spinach, raw fresh or frozen chopped cauliflower, raw fresh or frozen sliced zucchini, raw fresh or frozen sliced summer squash, roasted sweet potato, roasted butternut squash, steamed diced beets)
- Optional add ins (pick 1-2: 1 teaspoon hemp seeds, chia seeds, or ground flaxseed 1 tablespoon nut butter 2 tablespoons avocado 1-2 teaspoons cocoa powder 1-2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup 1 tablespoon rolled oats)
Instructions
- Add chosen ingredients to a blender.
- Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl and adding more liquid if needed.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Blueberry Cocoa: Milk, banana, blueberries, spinach, cocoa powder
- Strawberry Banana: Milk, banana, strawberries, raw cauliflower, hemp seeds
- Mango Coconut Sweet Potato: Coconut milk, avocado, mango, sweet potato (cooked and cooled)
- Honey Peach: Milk, banana, peaches, raw summer squash, flaxseed
- Creamsicle: Yogurt, banana, orange, butternut squash (cooked and cooled)
- Tropical Greens: Milk, banana, kiwi, kale, chia seeds
- Cocoa Banana: Milk, banana (1 whole), spinach, cocoa powder, nut butter
- Tangy Peach: Kefir (instead of milk), banana, peach, honey, raw cauliflower
- Cinnamon Apple: Milk, banana, apple, raw summer squash, dash cinnamon
- Strawberry Beet: Milk, avocado, strawberries, raw beets (or leftover cooked), maple syrup
- If you can freeze the greens ahead of time, the finished product will taste much less “green” but will have the same nutrition. Just make sure the greens are dry, then put them into a zip top freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- You can use raw cauliflower, zucchini, beets, and summer squash. (Or you can freeze those raw veggies and add them frozen.)
- You can add fully cooked and cooled sweet potato, butternut squash, and beets. (Any kind work, even leftover puree, as long as it’s not seasoned or salted.)
- Blend really (really!) well to get a very smooth consistency, adding a little more milk (or even water) as needed to thin.
Nutrition
This post was first published January 2018.
My toddler is allergic to bananas – do you have any recommendations for what to swap it with for smoothies?
Mango is a great sub for bananas since it’s similarly creamy and sweet.
You say you prefer non-dairy milk. Would oat milk be a good milk to use in these recipes?
Sure, that will work. (Sometimes whole milk can cause the mixtures to separate with some of the fruits which is why I don’t recommend it here.)
Finally a simple recipe that my toddler likes and doesn’t call for 20 ingredients I don’t have. Thank you!
Tangy peach is insane !!!! That is literally the best smoothie I have ever had!!!!!!! Amazing that there is cauliflower in it, you are a creative genius!
So glad to hear it!
Are these smoothies thick enough to be put into a reusable pouch and be eaten from the pouch?
My toddler won’t touch any veggies except when I buy the baby smoothie pouches, but they’re tiny and cost so much!
So was thinking of batch-making lots of reusable pouches to go in the freezer – could I do this? And then do I just put it in the fridge the day before use to thaw?
(I’m worried it’s gonna have some weird separation after freezing or be too liquidy)
Did you ever figure this out? I’m wanting to do the same but worried about the same also
The only issue I’ve had with freezing and thawing is with blueberry, which tends to separate more. Otherwise, if they separate just shake up. (Is that your question?)
You can batch make these ahead and freeze. I make these with spinach, banana, pineapple OR strawberry OR blueberry, and yogurt, plus a little PB for added protein. I froze them in breastmilk storage bags (FSA eligible!). Take one out the night before and put it in the fridge. Right before you use it, shake it up well in the bag. Then either pour into a cup, or if you got the bags with a pour spout (eg Medela) just put a straw right in the pouch! Comes out just as good as fresh!
You don’t add ice to it?
I don’t add ice if using some frozen fruit. You can if you’d like.
Big fans of smoothies here. We frequently use blueberries and regular milk and we often freeze and thaw at a later date. My guys have been drinking them since 6-12 months though (can’t remember exact age). No complaints from anyone! Then again, we also use opaque-ish containers for serving and no one has spoken about separation or blueberries here.
Dear Amy, your recipes have been so helpful as I try to feed my son homemade, healthy nomz — thanks for sharing your knowledge!! How long would these keep in the fridge, and is it a possibility to freeze them (premade pouch)? Thank you
Yes you can freeze them. They are best within 24 hours after storing in the fridge. I usually only serve blueberry immediately though since it can separate while sitting.
How do we go about cooking to sweet potatoes and any other things for these smoothies?
Do we just boil them?
For the sweet potatoes, you can use any method you prefer (boiling, steaming, roasting) without salt. Then just let cool before adding to the smoothie.
This is our go-to smoothie recipe that I make for my kids twice a week! Such an easy and delicious way to get Kale into their diets! I wanted to ask – would this translate well into a popsicle if put into a popsicle mold after it’s made? TIA!
For things like the frozen cauliflower, i read on the bag that you need to cook it to a safe temp before consuming. Is it safe to use uncoooked?
I recommend freezing fresh cauliflower yourself to avoid this issue.
I’ve read somewhere that using cow’s milk can curd the smoothie when it has citrus fruit, is this true? If so can I use soymilk?
It may depend on the fruit and the amounts and yes you can use soy milk.
I can’t wait to try these. My son refuses to eat fruit or veggies. But after finding some dinosaur popsicle molds (he’s obsessed with dinosaurs) I plan on making smoothie popsicles in hopes of finally finding a way to get him to eat them. Here’s to hoping they go over well when the molds arrive.
I’ve made your blueberry banana smoothie three times this week and today, I tried banana and mango and it tastes so good! The entire family loves this recipe, including our 15 month old daughter that doesn’t eat any veggies if she sees them. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad!
CAULIFLOWER?! Color me surprised. Doing this immediately.